KidsFest international

KidsFest is a cultural-social event that thrives to foster the political focus on children everywhere and especially in countries with challenging political transitions. Like a gigantic birthday party that a city, a country, offers to all its children to involve them in building their country’s future: taking their vision into account makes them think about their future role in society. KidsFest’s program is an interactive “cultural buffet” combining entertainment and education, a showroom for all who deal with children, with culture, with education. The main concept is to integrate “the future” into the present tense - and that concerns children as much as adults. KidsFest is a festivity with a message, it promotes universal values and is based on voluntarism and inclusion: The key point for KidsFest is to bind-in numerous associates, individuals, artists, organizations, schools, local and international partners - to reflect the society at large. The long pre-run serves to build-up cohesion between the different actors of civil society and let them optimize the quality, the relevance and the diversity of the program. KidsFest puts children in the foreground, but it involves the entire society with its interactive and unifying character. KidsFest touches the minds of all people with its high level of positive emotions that affect young and old. KidsFest offers exposure to every talent, provides a space to every person to contribute. A space invaded and re-invented by children.

KidsFest international is the umbrella that regroups KidsFests throughout the world, functioning according to the same principle. Our aim is to expand in many countries to create an independent, international, secular network. KidsFest is a label that represents a standard of quality, programming and objectives. Different teams, different places, different politics: all connected and based on the same formula that provides each project with added value through brand recognition. Being part of KidsFest International means automatically gaining renown and a comprehensive definition, an outreach going far beyond a simple “children’s event”. KidsFest has its own visual identity (trademark) and the KidsFest Charta that serve as distinctive framework for all projects. The concept of KidsFest is the result of a long period gaining international expertise, a decade of experience with international organizations: Embassies, cultural institutes, political foundations, Rotary International, EU, UNICEF, Save the Children Norway, OSCE, ICRC, UNHCR and UNESCO. KidsFest international is a project permanently under construction - like the world itself: the creative progress integrates constantly new elements.

In only one year, since its registration (2014) ViaKult Office has implemented KidsFest in 3 countries (Bosnia & Herzegovina, Tunisia, Bulgaria). Others (e.g. Nigeria) are lined up in planning. Every year we want the number to increase. Our aim is to become a project the United Nations votes for without veto: We want to create the UN-KidsFest as symbolic outreach for peace, irrespective of past or ongoing conflicts, the UN security council “invaded” for one day by children.

ViaKult Office - practical functioning

ViaKult Office identifies and assists local partners in different countries to create a locally en rooted organization for the creation of KidsFest: This functions through acquisition of a franchise. This includes ViaKult Office being on the advisory board of the organizer and actively intervening as consultancy partner. ViaKult Office is not acting as organizer, ViaKult Office provides the local organizer with the KidsFest Charta to be respected, guidelines, tool box, and road map.

ViaKult Office follows the project KidsFest development from the start until the implementation, during several years, to ensure that a project labeled “KidsFest” by ViaKult Office corresponds to the defined Charta and represents the universal values of the United Nations. The project’s visual ID is provided by ViaKult Office. Layouts for all representation are produced by ViaKult Office. KidsFest is a trademark, its representation and publishing on any support is submitted to prior approval by ViaKult Office. The international communication & Press is monitored by ViaKult Office All KidsFest projects are regrouped with main information at the web page www.viakult.de. (Project-Infosheet, Final report, photo Gallery, Press). We encourage organizers to create and localize websites, Facebook pages and likewise to broaden local impact.

We work in praxis closely together with the organizers, their country-office/s for the organization of KidsFest. Establishing numerous partnerships with NGOs, schools, civil society actors, governmental institutions, international representations, cultural institutes and Embassies. ViaKult Office serves as reference and provides expertise. ViaKult Office follows and assists partner organizations during the entire planning and implementing phase, that may take more than a year in order to develop a multitude of partnerships and ensure the cohesion of all parties. ViaKult Office being a foreign umbrella organization is neutral, not politically or economically motivated. The aim is to enroot KidsFest as initiative in depth, ensuring its longevity carried by the civil society. ViaKult Office intervenes through franchising, consulting, coaching, educating, networking, national and international cooperation. ViaKult Office builds up long term projects. (more info available upon request)

Project History and Development

Kid's festival Sarajevo is the largest children & youth event in South East Europe with 40.000 participants. It was started in 2004 to address the root causes of ethnic division by bringing tens of thousands of children from all parts of the country together. Kid's Festival contributes significantly to peace stabilization, building up open minds, generating synergies for a pluralistic democratic future.

The concept of KidsFest International was developed over a long period gaining international expertise. It is based on the experience of a decade working with the international community, EU, UNICEF, Save the Children Norway, OSCE, NATO, ICRC, UNHCR and UNESCO. KidsFest is a LABEL standing for quality and universal values, a light-weight project with a flexible format. KidsFest reaches important significance by involving the entire civil society, binding-in actively high numbers of partners, local and international organizations, embassies, talents, artists, governmental institutions, NGOs, schools, media, commercial firms.

In a more than a decade, CEO Susanne Prahl has developed the initial Bosnian Project into an international multi-platform. In 2014/2015 we succeeded to launch a series of new events elsewhere in the world under the Label KidsFest International: Banja Luka was the first to adopt the new concept last June. In Tunisia already two KidsFests took place within six months only. The launch of KidsFest Sofia June 28 was highly successful and the Mayor decided to continue this initiative at a higher level. KidsFest Nigeria modeled on the same concept takes shape with the aim of unifying the country .

Irina Bokova, Unesco’s director general awarded Kid's festival 2015 in Sarajevo with the UNESCO PATRONAGE. In her letter to the Minister of Civil Affairs she says “At the outset, allow me to congratulate the organizers for this highly appreciated initiative which offers an opportunity to promote respect for cultural diversity, and to foster a spirit of mutual understanding among children and youth, who are sources of creative energy and meaningful actors of peace.”

KidsFest philosophy

All religions have festivities that unite people who adhere to that religion, but there is no common festivity for all religions and including also non-religious populations. We are convinced that a festivity which all people, of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy and share will contribute to world-peace. That is the overarching aim of KidsFest International. ViaKult Office invites governmental and non-governmental, commercial and non-commercial partners to participate in this initiative. KidsFest is made by the people and children of each country. In every country, KidsFest represents the specifies, the themes and needs of the society, as time brings always evolution, the programming constantly up-dates itself, maintaining on-going initiatives as recurrent factor, adding novelties and innovative one-time actions: This makes each KidsFest edition a unique project that can partly but never be totally reproduced. Each KidsFest edition, in each country is influenced by previous editions, and vice-versa influences the program development in other countries. KidsFest has always a trend setting approach. Our work is to increase the number of participating countries until the globalization creates an automation effect.

Today, there are already tens of thousands who enjoy, believe and support KidsFest. Tomorrow hundreds of thousands people will make KidsFest the lighthouse of cultural diversity in the world, binding-in an ever-increasing number of pro-active, positive people: ViaKult Office serves as catalyst to set positive energy into motion. KidsFest clicks people back from virtual into the real world: making dreams reality. KidsFest is not a “hype-event” (like the Love Parade) that gets overrun by its own fast dynamic: KidsFest builds on slow, organic growth, becoming a tradition rather than an event. KidsFest International will develop into a point of identification, for every single person regardless of origin. Like an iceberg, we see the day of the event only a tiny peak, its underlying fundament, which is the entire creation phase, and the projection on “next” year” are the main force of this project. Our experience shows this clearly: in over a decade people don’t say “we should have done this…”. But thousands say: “Next year, we will to that.”… Everyone has a talent - KidsFest is a project every person can identify with because one is free to participate in one’s own individual way. All factors that influence a society give KidsFest its unique tone in each country, combined different tones become music like a symphony of civilization.

Concept & Objectives

KidsFest is a cultural-social event that thrives to foster the political focus on children world-wide and especially in countries with challenging political transitions. Peace is always “under construction”. Children are useful actors in this process. UNESCO builds “peace in the minds of men and women” - we join this commitment to peace-building, mediation among and via children, peace education, education for non-violence, tolerance, acceptance, mutual respect, intercultural and interfaith dialogue and reconciliation”. This has been CEO Susanne Prahl’s main professional focus within the past decade.

The microcosm of KidsFest is the symbolic equivalent of civil engagement in the “real world” where children take responsibility. Political education starts in Kindergarten, not with teens: make children take decisions, express their views, project themselves in the future. KidsFest is a symbolic world today, reality tomorrow. Children have an innate capacity of inter-cultural competence they do not need to learn it, they need to be exposed to different cultures and civilization in order not to loose this capacity. This constitutes a huge potential in global peace work.

KidsFest functions like an international cultural buffet where each child finds inspiration. A combination of workshops-entertainment-education-play-fun-talent. KidsFest is a showroom for children and for all those dealing with them: NGOs, schools, Embassies and international organizations offering activities for children. Meet a VIP with Ambassadors, celebrities. KidsFest makes children feel like time travellers. Reinventing a space, allowing fantasy to create new ideas. The world is under construction, we need a child’s vision. At KidsFest children write history - now. Children are the creators of the worlds patrimony of tomorrow. (more info: please contact us or ask for KidsFest International project sheet)

Consultancy - Secondary Company activities

ViaKult Office also provides services to third parties, mainly expertise for international partners, in the advisory and consultancy domain, especially focused on international and European cultural cooperation. Organization of events and large-scale meetings. (more info available upon request)